Jack Cochran's son Casey - the one "who's been involved in football since he could walk" - has taken his final snap.

The Cochran family, after consulting with the UConn medical staff and head coach Bob Diaco, made the difficult decision to end the quarterback's playing days on Monday due to "multiple concussions" sustained during his career, university officials said in a release.

Cochran, 20, suffered his latest concussion during UConn's season-opening loss to Brigham Young on Aug. 29. He didn't play on Saturday when the Huskies beat Stony Brook 19-16 for their first win.

"It's devastating, obviously, because he's worked his whole life to get to this point," Jack Cochran said Monday night. "But I'm proud of how Casey's handled himself. He's handled it better than anybody. He doesn't have any regrets because he knows he made the most of his time in football."

Ultimately, Jack said, everyone involved was in agreement that Casey's quality of life was the major factor moving forward.

"With each concussion you have, the symptoms tend to linger a little longer," said the elder Cochran, who coached his son as a freshman at New London High School when the Whalers won the Class SS state title in 2008. "It's time for Casey to get away and keep his health and mental capacity so he can live another 60, 70 or 80 years."

Cochran, a redshirt sophomore, started against BYU in a nationally-televised game the Huskies lost 35-10. He shared the quarterback duties with senior Chandler Whitmer, completing 17 of 31 passes for 171 yards with one interception, but waited until mid-week before approaching Diaco about his symptons.

Jack Cochran said everyone at UConn was honest and supportive while exchanging views, and that Casey and his mother Shannon are also at peace with the final decision.

"Casey put in thousands of hours to improve his game," Jack said. "He had chances to play in the Ivy League, but he made a great decision going to UConn. He wanted to play for his home state school and wanted to be a Husky. It's family up there and he's made a lot of great friends."

Diaco, in a statement released Monday, said, "A silver lining in this matter is that Casey has an interest in pursuing a career in coaching. We can now accelerate his development in that area as he transitions from a player role to a mentor role as he continues to serve the team."

Casey's father agrees.

"This is a way to stay with (football). I think he'd make a hell of a good coach," Jack said. "He's a great leader, a great motivator and very knowledgeable. My hope is he can do it and enjoy it. Hopefully he can balance things and not make it 100 percent of his life, which is a tough thing to do."

Cochran, who started the final four games of UConn's 2013 season and led the Huskies to three straight season-ending wins, finished 128 of 206 in his career for 1,464 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also set UConn's single-game record for passing yards (461) when he was 36 of 54 and threw four touchdown passes in a win over Memphis on Dec. 7.

He arrived in Storrs after completing one of the state's most-decorated high school careers. In addition to winning a state title at New London, he helped Masuk win a Class LL title in 2010 and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut his final two seasons at Masuk.

Cochran holds the career records for passing yardage (10,767) and completions (635) and is tied for second in career touchdown passes (112), according to the Connecticut High School State Record Book.

"We're all upset, obviously, that we don't get to see what he becomes as a player, but I'm excited to see what he becomes as a person," said John Murphy, who coached Cochran for three seasons at Masuk and is currently an assistant at Division III Catholic University. "I'm sure he'll do everything he can to help out (UConn). … He's a wonderful young man and he's got so much to offer."

c.banning@theday.com

Twitter: @ChuckBanning1